Open Hearts and Stolen Robes
by PizzaNSunshine
Summary: Unseasonably cold weather has overtaken Avalor City, and everyone is left looking for creative ways of staying warm. Mateo leaves his workshop in search of hot chocolate and returns to find an unexpected— though not unwelcome– visitor has made herself at home. An Eleteo one-shot born of a fic request from arisayoshida on Tumblr.


I could see my breath as clear as the steam that rose in little curlicues from the carafe I carried as I made my way back to my workshop. Avalor was going through an odd cold snap and the frigid air had seeped through the walls of the palace, settling into every corner and nook. Of course, I had my own methods of warming my workshop with magic, but I knew nothing could warm a person on the inside like a steaming cup of hot chocolate the way my abuela used to make. Which is what brought me out of my workshop and down to the palace kitchen that day. I'd hoped if I asked nicely enough, the kitchen staff would let me have a mug of milk and a bit of chocolate. I could take care of the rest with magic, I just needed the basic ingredients.

Upon entering the kitchen, I saw Elena's abuela, Luisa, working at the center island. My mouth watered as I realized she was preparing a batch of her famous tamales.

She looked up as I entered the room. "Mateo!" She positively beamed at me, her eyes twinkling with affection. Whenever I spoke to Luisa, I felt welcome in her home–– almost like family. Over the last year, I had been invited to family birthday celebrations, private dinner parties, and I have a standing invitation to join them at the royal family's table anytime I find myself at the palace for mealtimes, which is becoming more and more often, thanks to my ever increasing duties as royal wizard.

"What brings you down here on this chilly day, _mijo_?" she asked me, smiling warmly. I noticed that she, like me, had donned several layers of clothing to ward off the cold. I had donned several layers of shirts and my favorite vest, but was regretting leaving my fleece wizard's robe behind in my workshop.

"Oh, you know, I was busy with royal wizard stuff in my workshop, but it's so cold that I decided to make some hot chocolate. I hoped I could get the milk and chocolate down here."

"Oh! Of course!" she exclaimed, hopping up from her seat as she began bustling around the kitchen and grabbing everything she needed to make the hot chocolate.

"You don't have to do that! Really! I didn't mean to disturb you from your tamales. I only need the cold milk and a little chocolate, and I can get out of your way."

"Nonsense!" she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Now you sit down and let me make the hot chocolate," and she continued her flurry of activity around the kitchen. As she went, she couldn't help but fret over how I was far too thin and must not be eating enough. By the time it was all said and done, I had a tray heaped with bolillos, pan dulce, and an entire carafe of hot chocolate.

"Awww, you didn't have to go through all of this trouble! I didn't mean to interrupt your tamale making."

She smiled indulgently and patted my cheek. "Don't worry about it, _mijo_. Just make sure you eat it all. I'll know if you haven't!" she finished sternly, wagging a finger at me before turning back to her tamales.

Laughing, I said goodbye, carefully picking up the tray–– which was heavier than I had expected–– as I headed back to the workshop. Upon approaching the not-so-secret door, I realized the tray was too heavy to balance with one arm. I stood there, trying to decide the most efficient way to get the door open and the tray inside until I realized I was being ridiculous.

 _You're a wizard, for crying out loud. Act like one!_

Feeling a little sheepish, I carefully set the tray on the ground and pulled out my tamborita, giving it a tap towards the tray. The tray of goodies glowed and rose gently into the air, floating at my elbow. Grinning to myself, I slid open the door and stepped inside, the enchanted tray following obediently.

 _I love magic_ , I thought to myself, feeling a little smug.

As I walked deeper into the workshop, the heat from the magical fire I'd left burning washed over me, taking the edge off the cold. Swinging my tamborita lazily towards my work table, I directed the tray to set itself down. I figured if I was going to do half the job with magic, I may as well finish it, so I waved my tamborita across the surface of the table and moved each of the little dishes of treats from the tray and arranged the spread neatly around the table with magic.

"Ooh! What'd ya bring me?"

Violently startled, I felt the magic startle in tandem and accidentally overturned the plate of pan dulce, scattering the sweet bread across the counter space. I'd been intent upon my task and hadn't noticed Elena sitting–– looking comfortable hugging her knees to her chest–– on a bench in the adjacent alcove where I had left the magical fire burning.

"Elena!" I said breathlessly, placing a shaking hand over my racing heart, "I wasn't expecting to see you there, but––" and I raised an amused eyebrow as I noticed she'd taken it upon herself to move my furniture around so as to give herself a comfortable seat by the fire, "––I'm glad to see you've made yourself at home," I finished wryly.

She flashed her dazzling smile at me as she stood, hurried over to me to help clean up the mess of pan dulce, and said, "I came to see if there was anything you could do about this ridiculous cold, and found this little fire burning. I thought I'd stick around to try and warm myself until you returned." She eyed the smorgasbord of treats on my work table and quirked an eyebrow at me, smirking, "Er– feeling a little hungry this afternoon?"

Blushing, I stammered distractedly as I continued cleaning up the mess, "I– er– I went to the kitchen for a mug of cold milk because I wanted to make hot chocolate, and your abuela was there, making tamales, and she insisted–"

"Say no more," Elena said with a small laugh, "Abuela can be as fussy as a mother hen, especially towards those she considers to be part of the family."

I paused what I was doing and snapped my gaze to Elena, who was standing closer than I had realized. "Wait. What? She considers _me_ –– part of _your_ _famly_?"

"Of course she does," she said earnestly as she slid an arm around my shoulder, "and so do I." I stared into those warm amber eyes as she smiled her soft, sincere smile that had a tendency to pierce into my soul, leaving me feeling a bit dazed.

"Y– you do?" I breathed, blinking as I did a little double take, noticing what she was wearing for the first time, hardly daring to believe my eyes. "Wait. Is that are you– _is that my robe?_ " I asked, my hand shooting awkwardly to the back of my neck.

Elena looked down at her front and back up at me, smiling sheepishly. "Er– yes, I suppose it is–" she trailed off, glancing uncertainly around the room, playing with the end of her ponytail before continuing in a fast voice, "it's just that I came down here and was so relieved to find the fire, so I started warming myself and then I saw your robe lying on the bench and remembered how it always looked so warm and soft and cuddly and I hoped it would help me warm up so I slipped it on. I didn't think you'd mind– you– you're not mad are you?"

I looked her up and down, unable to help but notice how _my_ robe sat on her slim frame, draped gracefully over every perfect curve–– the flickering firelight softly accentuating and highlighting each one, leaving me with an odd urge to run my hand along her waist just to see if it was as soft and smooth as it looked.

Recognizing the dangerous path my runaway thoughts were were taking, I felt my face flaming and was certain my cheeks had turned a brilliant shade of crimson as I blushed furiously. Averting my eyes, I reigned in the impulse by clenching one fist at my side and continued rubbing my neck awkwardly, looking everywhere but at her.

"I– I– of course I'm not m–mad, Elena," I stammered as I internally kicked myself for how ridiculous I must have sounded to her.

Concern flashed in her eyes as she eyed me with that piercing gaze of hers. "Are you sure? You're avoiding my eye like I'm indecent or something," she paused, a quick look of panic overcoming her features as she checked her front and back, apparently making sure she was, indeed, decent. "Does it look that bad?" she asked, self-conscious worry creasing her brow.

Thrown off guard–– I gaped at her, perplexed that _she_ , Elena Castillo Flores, _CROWN PRINCESS_ of Avalor, could be concerned with what _I_ thought of her appearance. In fact, the thought that it might be possible for her to look anything less than stunning, regardless of her attire, was ludicrous.

My robe looked spectacular on her feminine frame. She'd fastened the belt around her slim waist, which made the affect all the more flattering. I blushed as I thought about how soft and warm and huggable she looked.

Clasping my twitchy hands behind my back, I cleared my throat awkwardly as I looked at her, raising an eyebrow, and replied hastily, "No! Not bad! Y–you look– the robe– it really brings out your– chest– No! Your breasts– NO!" I seriously wished I had a spell to make the ground swallow me whole. That would have been great. I smacked a hand to my crimson face, covering my eyes and shaking my head as I said in a flat voice, "Beautiful. You look beautiful, Elena. As always. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go die of embarrassment."

Turning my back to her, I wallowed in mortification as she laughed lightly, and placed her delicate hands on my shoulders.

"Hey," she said gently, "Mateo?"

I kept my face in my hands and shook my head, I couldn't look her in the eye after that, I just couldn't.

She grasped my wrists and pulled them from my face, hunching down to try and make eye contact. "Look at me please."

Slowly, I raised my eyes, my cheeks feeling as if they would be permanently stained crimson. Wicked amusement danced in her eyes as she smirked, moving her hands back to my shoulders. "So, you think I'm beautiful?"

Surprised that this was what she chose to focus on, I raised an admonishing eyebrow and blurted, "Of course you are and you know it! You're gorgeous, smart, resourceful, and–– shall I go on?"

Elena grinned crookedly as she shook her head and squeezed my shoulders, saying, "Well, it never hurts to hear it from a cute guy," she winked as my traitorous cheeks flooded with warmth–– again, "but, no, that won't be necessary. So, would you like your robe back now? I should have asked before helping myself to your things, I'm sorry. "

I shook my head, "No, you keep it–– for today. If it's helping you stay warm, I'm glad to share it." We shared a smile, and I found myself lost in the warmth of her amber-colored eyes.

I cleared my throat, trying to clear my thoughts as I forced my attention away from her face and over to the mounds of sweets. "Would you like to help me eat these? There's no way I'll be able to eat them on my own, no matter how many times your abuela shakes her finger at me."

Her face lit up and she beamed at me. "Really?! Oh, thank you, Mateo! You're the best."

I reheated the chocolate and conjured up a few mugs. We each took a plate full of sweets along with a mug of hot chocolate to the cozy bench by the fire and enjoyed an impromptu picnic together, the friendly camaraderie warming us through almost as much as the sweets and hot chocolate.

By the time we'd cleaned our plates and drained our mugs, we were stuffed with sweets and I couldn't help feeling a little drowsy. I grinned at Elena and asked, "So, is my robe everything you'd hoped it would be?"

She smiled thoughtfully. "Well, it is soft and warm, but––" she paused and flashed a coy look in my direction.

"But what?"

"––but, it's not nearly as cuddly as I thought it would be. And it's not nearly as warm as I'd hoped it was." She shivered a little as she spoke.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "And why do you think that is?"

Smiling, she slid a little closer and said, "I can't be sure, but I think it's because you're not the one wearing it."

I laughed, "That's funny, because I was just thinking how remarkably soft, warm and huggable it looked and I couldn't remember ever thinking that before. So the only logical conclusion would be that you are the soft, warm and huggable one–– not my robe."

She giggled, "Well, now I think we need to test this theory to see if it's true," and she slid closer, sliding an arm around my middle and drawing my arm around her shoulders as she snuggled up to me and leaned her head against my chest. Surprised, but pleased, I slid my other arm around to pull her close–– for warmth, of course–– and we sat together, watching the flickering flame and appreciated the warmth we shared between us.

–––––

It must have been hours that we sat there together by the fire. I was pretty sure I'd dozed off. Elena was still there. Snuggled up to my side, her arms around me as mine were around her. I had to admit it was a nice feeling. Elena and I were close–– the best of friends–– and I had never, in my wildest dreams dared to even hope that we'd ever be anything more than friends. It was the greatest honor to be her best friend. She's the crown princess and I'm–– well, I'm nobody, really. It was perfectly normal for best friends to fall asleep in each other's arms, right? Nothing happened, so it didn't mean anything. Right?.

She stirred and pulled back, just enough to smile at me.

"Hey sleepyhead," she said quietly with a sweet smile that warmed me from the inside out.

"Hey," I smiled back, once again getting so lost in her smile and eyes that time seemed to stand still.

Now I don't know if it was the warmth that made both of us a little silly sleepy, or if it was from hours being wrapped warm in each other's arms, or if was simply that she was feeling particularly bold after stealing my robe, but an odd emotion I'd never seen in her eyes before seemed to be smoldering deep within. My breath caught in my throat as she brought a hand up to cup my cheek and a slow, feline grin twitched at the corners of her mouth.

I was mesmerized–– wide eyed and willingly trapped within the spell of her steady gaze as she leaned in slowly, our breaths intermingling as she moved in. When our lips were but a hair's width apart, she murmured, a faint whisper of breath against my slightly parted lips, "I love you, Mateo de Alva." And she pressed her lips to mine in a slow, lingering kiss that was so unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. The spell broke as feeling and emotion welled up inside me to overflowing. I tightened my arms around her, pulling her against me as I felt her delicate fingertips tangle in my hair. Time had stopped, our world had narrowed down to JUST she and I–– nothing else existed. My breath became erratic and my heart hammered in my chest as the kiss became more urgent, my hands sliding up and down the elegant curve of her back.

She pulled back, just enough to whisper, her lips nearly driving me mad as they brushed softly against my ear, "You should probably shut the door before you let out all of the heat."

Overwhelmed with desire, I felt the magnetic pull of her lips–– their absence from my own almost unbearable–– and I blindly sought them out, but became distracted by the soft skin beneath her ear. As I kissed a trail from her ear and down her neck, I fumbled for my tamborita–– swinging it in the general direction of the sliding door and thinking the necessary spell as I let the drum bounce against the floor, casting the magic, and––

–––––

The sound of the sliding door woke me with a start. My eyes flew open as I noticed that my palms were sweaty and my heart was racing. Gazing bleary-eyed across the dimly-lit workshop, waves of disappointment washed over me as I realized it had been a dream, followed closely by waves of shame. I had never thought such things about my friend, and I was a little embarrassed at how my subconscious had run amok. I'd apparently fallen asleep on the bench by my little fire, using the wall as a pillow–– a very uncomfortable pillow.

And then, as consciousness returned to me, my heart nearly leapt from my chest as I realized I wasn't alone. I could feel a faint heartbeat coming from the warm, soft body pressed to my side, sleeping contentedly in my arms. I turned my head ever so slightly and found my nose buried in Elena's sweet smelling hair, her head resting in the little dip between my chest and my shoulder that seemed to have been made for that express purpose–– she fit so perfectly there. My heart still racing in my chest, I was filled with the urge to pull her closer and kiss her again–– or would it be the first time? After the passionate and strangely vivid kisses just moments earlier, I wasn't entirely sure.

Exactly how much of that had been a dream?

"Elena?"

I jumped as I heard Luisa's voice calling down the stairs, footsteps approaching. "Mateo? Have you seen––" she stopped abruptly as she walked by our alcove, taking in the sight of Elena and I wrapped in each other's arms.

I groaned inwardly as I felt my face heating for what felt like the ten millionth time today. I felt Elena stir in my arms as she tipped her head up to smile sleepily at me before she sat upright, stretching lazily.

"Abuela? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question!" she crossed her arms and eyed the pair of us. "Have you been down here all night?"

Confusion crossed both of our faces. "All night?" she asked. "Really?"

"Yes! You missed dinner and when you missed breakfast we started to worry. What have you been doing down here all this time?"

Elena and I looked at each other with identical looks of surprise and panic before we both launched into hurried explanations, our voices talking over each other and making it difficult to follow either of our explanations. This went on until Luisa held up her hands and said, "I'm not sure I want to know. But if I find out that anything funny _was_ going on, I may have to come back here and permanently break that door down for you, mijo." She eyed me suspiciously and spoke sternly, but I could have sworn amusement and approval twinkled deep within her eyes.

"Yes, ma'am," I said, blushing as I thought back to what had only happened in my dreams, my hand shooting awkwardly to the back of my neck..

She turned to Elena and said, "Mija, you should go get cleaned up and change for the council meeting. You don't want to be late."

Elena smiled, "Ok abuela, thanks for coming to get me."

Luisa let the stern expression drop and smiled indulgently at her granddaughter. "I'll see you at the meeting, mija. I need to call off the search." And she left.

Elena slid my robe over her head and, folding it neatly, handed it to me with a shy smile. "Here, thanks for letting me wear it. And thanks for letting me keep warm with you."

I took it, and, still feeling a little dazed, I said, with a shy smile of my own, "Anytime, Elena. You know where to find me if you need me–– for warmth or otherwise. My door is always open."

She gave me a long look, an odd flicker–– I couldn't quite define what it was–– flashed across her eyes, before she turned and swept from the room. As I watched her retreating form, I felt that had it not been for the lingering warmth and the familiar scent of vanilla and sunshine on the fabric of my wizard's robe, I might have thought the entire experience to have been but a dream.


End file.
